Tsipras to brief political leaders on Cyprus Issue

By Spiros Sideris /
02/01/2017 /
Comments Off on Tsipras to brief political leaders on Cyprus Issue

Kotzias to meet Eide, Duncan, Guterres

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will have separate meetings with leaders of Greek political parties, except Golden Dawn, on Monday 9 January, to inform them of developments on the Cyprus problem, in view of the upcoming conference on Cyprus to be held at the UN offices in Geneva January 12.

According to IBNA information the meeting with the political leaders is directly related to the continuing consultations between the Greek and Turkish sides concerning the meeting expected to take place between Greek Prime Minister Alexi Tsipras and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. If a meeting is to take place before January 9th the Greek Prime Minister will fully inform the political leaders individually due to the possibility of a disagreement in which case a joint statement would cause complications.

When asked if the meetings will have an informative character or whether a common line will be decided for Greece to follow in the Geneva conference a senior Greek government source stated that “a result cannot be anticipated”.

On whether a meeting has been arranged for before January 11th another government official told IBNA that “we are working in this direction, but we still have a long road ahead. It is important that consultations are taking place. The important thing is for progress to take place in the talks initiated by the Greek Foreign Ministry Secretary Genral. The bilateral talks depend on this”.

According to IBNA information the Turkish side, is making small steps in arranging the meeting which is deemed “necessary” by the Greek side, but has its reservations on whether it can take place before January 11. However today Turkish diplomatic sources, told IBNA that consultations are taking place at a very fast pace and this is very positive development.

The Cypriot side believes that a meeting between Alexis Tsipras and Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be very difficult to achieve, without this creating problems between the two communities during the Geneva talks starting January 9th, stated a Cypriot government source.

The Greek Prime Minister has recently held meetings with the political leaders of the Cypriot parties and has been thoroughly briefed on the political climate and positions of the entire political spectrum in Cyprus.

During the meeting on Friday, December 30 in Athens between Alexis Tsipras and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades joint actions as well as awareness initiatives by EU institutions were decided, while it was decided that the Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias will have a symbolic role.

The Greek Foreign Minister will meet on January 6 at 16:00, in New York, with the new UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, when he will inform him of the developments in Cyprus, emphasising the fact that Greece wants and supports a fair and viable solution to the Cyprus problem, supports a reunification of the island and in removing the unacceptable current status quo prevailing in Cyprus, as well as for the need for a stable independent and sovereign Republic of Cyprus, without guarantees and an occupation army.

Before his departure for New York Nikos Kotzias will meet successively with the Special Adviser to the UN Secretary General for Cyprus Espen Eide on Wednesday January 4 and on Thursday, the 5th, with the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of UK, Sir Alan Duncan, where he will discuss the latest developments on the Cyprus problem.

According to IBNA information, the Greek mission to Geneva, under Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, will depart on January 11, unless there is progress concerning the meeting between Alexis Tsipras with Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier./ΙΒΝΑ